Well hello, endorphins!

I finally had an almost satisfactory run on Sunday. For the past week or so, I've been runninng immediately after lifting (to try and consolidate my # of trips to the gym because I can't afford to go multiple times per day), and I'm starting to think it has inhibitted progress. I do more arm lifts than anything (due to their overall weakness and the fact that my stupid knees can only handle so many leg activities). So by the end of lifting my shoulders and back are super... tight and tired. Despite the goofy looking stretches I'll do to try and get loose, I feel instantly tense as I start running which leads to fatigue much quicker than usual. If it were a normal day in the land of exercise for me, this wouldn't be a problem. But, these days are far from normal as I have yet to regain running endurance ever since the whole boot shenanigan. On Sunday, I didn't lift before I ran (my new plan is to not lift on weekends solely due to the fact that the gym is crowded ALL DAY on weekends whereas it is slightly more managable in the late morning on weekdays). While I hardly went far on Sunday, I went farthER than I have since I've been back, which is progress, so I'll take it. For the first mile (ish), I even felt.. good. 'I am going to go far today,' I thought. 'Finally I can go far again!' Then I hit mile two and returned to the real world and had to wring out every ounce of my being to finish a little farther than the day before. Despite my lack of follow through in my distance aspiration, I am encouraged at feeling good for the first mile. For the past.. too long.. those first 6 or 7 minutes have been filled with panic-- I can't breathe! How could I have kept this up for so long before! How will I finish this! AAHHHHHH! But Sunday was good and I felt like I could handle it and that is a step in the right direction. Finally. Upsetting is the fact that the next morning I felt my foot again. I am clinging onto the fact that it is more of a sore muscle pain than the pinpoint, dull (yet piercing) constant pain. We'll see. I decided to not run yesterday because I would rather take one day off running than spend another chunk of my life in a boot.
Instead of running yesterday, I swam again, and it was fantastic. The day I collided with Chippy was my first day back in the water since... early December, so I haven't been expecting fantastic things-- just getting used to the water again. Considering my lack of running endurance, I especially didn't expect to be swimming my normal workout. But I have been-- no problem... (a whopping twice... but whatever). Dare I say I've enjoyed the workout even DURING it? With running, it is usually a fairly miserable experience until about three minutes after it's over-- that is when my lazy endorphins start to kick in and the euphoria of the potent natural drug begins. But the last two times I've swam, endorphins met me within 500 yards. My shoulders feel strong and each lap is far from a struggle, more of a party-- woohoo I am SWIMMING! I am STRONG! I am FAST! This is FUN! I wish I could have those endorphins WHILE running! Shoot.
I don't expect my love affair with swimming to last long, as all good things must come to an end. I will probably get somewhat bored with the 'long swim' sooner than later and embrace written workouts again which always are more challenging mentally and physically. For now, however, I will love the endorphins as they greet me so early in the water.
If they haven't already, they should really figure out a way to bottle these things called endorphins. It'd be beneficial because a) it could solve our current economic crisis by selling them and b) I think the world would be a MUCH happier place.
Just sayin'.